Westerland Offices
Official Titles of Office were available in any given society, and were formal designations of authority and responsibility - as such, they were core concepts of Westerland Society and Culture. Messenger-at-Arms A Squire-at-Arms, meaning Gentry-Born professional full-time soldier, employed as a Messenger, Mailman and armed Courier. There is typically at least one in a shire. * The Messenger-at-Arms functions as a guide as well. He typically counts on escorts to and from settlements by the local military, at least during times of danger, but for the most part braves the roads alone or with a Squire. * Messengers-at-Arms are very important for the spread of news - the Chancellor of a given fiefdom will decide which news the messenger spreads, and stamps these with an official seal, to ensure that they appear valid. Major Domo A Major Domo was a man appointed to run the household of a landowner, including collecting rent from tenants. The formal title was only used if the Major Domo worked for someone of significant standing - otherwise, it was commonly just called a "Hetsman". Horse Master The Horse Master is a rather important position, as the Horse Master is in charge of running the local horse breeding program, and for ensuring that all who can are raising horses, and for selecting the necessary horses for military use. * Families who own a plot of land, or more, if this plot is feasible to use for raising horses, are required to maintain three horses; one mare, one male horse (a gelding or stallion, depending on the Horse Master's verdict) and one young horse of either gender. * The female horse is used for breeding exclusively, and is the property of the Horse Master, given as a duty to raise and keep to the family that holds it. * The male horse is either a gelding or a stallion, depending on how the Horse Master has decided to run the local breeding program - either way, this horse can both be used for breeding and is also the horse that the family is required to field for combat, but belongs to the family. * The young horse is usually the child of the mare kept on the same plot, but this is not always the case. Typically, the young horse is raised there until it reaches the age of 4, at which point the horse is sent to the Horse Master who trains it for military use, or sends it to another family that needs a replacement for their breeding mare or such. * Naturally, the mare might produce more offspring while raising its young, and if the family so desires, and the horse master has no need for further horses at that time, they can keep some of these as their own, but the Horse Master does make a living raising and selling horses, and often keeps a considerably well stocked stud farm - while he has the right to claim any offspring that the mare produces, he has to pay the family for every young horse he claims beyond the one he collects every 4 years, though he does not pay full price for this. Harbor Master A Harbor Master is a position that only exists when a given fiefdom has an actual harbor, or port, as otherwise, it is typically referred to as the Water Bailiff. * They survive by collecting a toll on any bridges, or by charging anyone who provides a ferrying service, as well as charging a tax from anyone fishing in the water (this is how they are usually fed). * Their other duties include regulating the fishing of the water and especially to investigate if anyone is illegally redirecting currents that lead to such a water-body (which is often a lake or a river). * Being a Harbor Master is a privilege, but also a fairly important job. * When looking at a settlement that enjoys a great deal of water-based traffic, the Harbor Master is typically a Knight, and he is typically in charge of maintaining the "merchant marine" (typically consisting mostly of fishermen). * When looking at a settlement with mostly lakes and small rivers, the Harbor Master would be called a "water bailiff", and is typically a man of the Gentry. Master of Commerce The Master of Commerce is an individual found only in cities that hold a license to hold market, and he is in charge of recording and reporting all transactions that involve items of "notability" - that is to say, he would not record that a man bought a clay jar, but would record that a man bought a tool or a chicken. * The purpose of the Master of Commerce recording transactions is to leave some sort of record of ownership. He sits at the market and all completed transactions are taken before him, to be witnessed and recorded if valid. * He further more collects a small fee from all who set up a stall, and by recording what people have purchased, it leaves some sort of indication of personal wealth of the involved individuals. * The Master of Commerce is also in charge of monitoring and, to some extent, supervising the local guilds, and for enforcing that no-one imports or exports to markets that are not authorized by the local authority. Game Warden A Game Warden, also known as a Forest Bailiff, is a person of the Gentry, not necessarily a Knight (but most commonly so), appointed and employed to monitoring a forest or other region used for hunting and foraging and regulating this. * Hunting in of itself is not a taxable profession when speaking of Feudal Taxes, as nothing of the hunted animal remains long enough to pay taxes with, and most hunters cannot produce enough fur and skin to make any kind of meaningful tax payments with, unless they are professional hunters or trappers, which is a completely different matter. * Game Wardens are paid by all professional Hunters and trappers in the region, who avoid paying taxes this way. They tend to pay their way in mostly meat and foraged goods, putting food on the Warden's table, but must also gather up a number of furs and skins, which is gathered up as a kind of offering and tax-payment. Almost always, this is 1 out of every 10 skins or furs from an animal of a certain category harvested - and feathers in the case of birds. * During hunting season, the Game Warden charges an amount per kill, often taking his payment in meat and skin and fur. Being a fairly complicated job, being a Game Warden also comes with responsibilities of hunting down poachers, leading hunting parties on demand (often for a small charge) and providing certain furs, skins, foraged goods or wild meats on demand. * It is certainly considered a privilege to be a Game Warden, but it is also a very demanding job. Bailiff A Bailiff is a man who is responsible for a "Bailey" - or at least, this is where the name comes from. A Bailey was originally the walled inner sanctum of a settlement, but in later time, the Bailiff acted as Chief of Police for an entire citadel or settlement of considerable size. * A Bailiff is always a Knight, but the position is not typically hereditary, but rather granted to a Knight of choice, often choosing from among hereditary knights within the fiefdom. * A Banneret would hold similar duties in a smaller settlement, that were not of significant enough size. * As a rule of thumb, where there is a Bailiff, there is also a City Guard and a City Watch - the Bailiff has full authority over both, and is responsible for training and maintaining the latter, but not the former - that falls under the authority of the Captain of the Guard. Sheriff Unlike in the real world, in the Westerlands the word "Reeve" derives some meaning both from the real-world term of "Reaver" (or reiver), as well as from the real world term "Reeve" though being mostly synonymous with the former in the Sourcelands. However, a Sheriff is the "Reeve of the Shire", making him both an administrator of sorts, but also a warrior, and this particular office embodies both of these terms, as the tax collector of the Shire, and the man primarily responsible for overseeing the Bannerets and the local militias. * A Sheriff is always a Knight. * The Sheriff has no authority inside, and in the immediate vicinity of a settlement with a Bailiff. * A Sheriff is not directly responsible for the training and outfitting of the militia units in the shire, as these responsibilities fall to the Bannerets, but he is responsible for inspecting these, and can command them at any given time - similar to the Bailiffs relationship with the City Guard. * The Sheriff is responsible for organizing local watches and both for the outfitting and training of these, in the events that the militia is short on manpower or deployed. Constable There can be multiple Constables in a given fiefdom, be it an Earldom or a large Freehold, and these are merely Agents of the Provost and their liege-lord, typically acting as a Police Force. * Being Constable is a grim duty, that often involves being the fist of the Lord, and a visit from the Constable is rarely pleasant, as anything that cannot be handled by sending a messenger means someone is likely to be punished, and often severely so. Provost A Provost is a Prosecuting Attorney - One sits at every Court that has a right to perform legal proceeding. There is no need to have a Provost in a Freehold, as all who live inside a Freehold are subject to the Lord's Justice, unless they have noble blood, in which case they can demand to stand trial in the nearest court - where a Provost will try them against the law. Magistrate A Magistrate is an appointed official who serves as an advisor and executor of the will of a Lord. Their job is largely to listen to their Lord's desire, inform them of how they believe these desires can be realized and attempt to set in motion what plans a Lord may have, typically by writing letters and following protocol - they work under a Chancellor, who ultimately oversees their efforts. * A Magistrate is typically just a trusted Scribe or Scholar who assists a Lord of some sort with their duties, often with a specific focus on taxes, legal affairs, etiquette, writing letters, keeping track of news and other issues. * Magistrates, unlike Ministers, do not have select ministries of responsibility, so the duties of a Magistrate changes dramatically if a given fiefdom also has Ministers, as the ministers take over the traditional duties of a Magistrate. * If there are ministers in a fiefdom, then Magistrates become clerks that oversee certain important offices that do not warrant specific titles. One could be Magistrate of the License Bureau, for instance. Magister The Magister is usually the senior most Magistrate at the court, who has the honor of running the local school. Mind you, it may not be a physical school building, but all Junior Paiges and many other who are qualified or can pay for it, must receive some sort of academical education. In some regions, there is no Magister, and this falls to the local Priest, but especially toward the mid- and late post-imperial era, Magisters became more and more common. * Often called a "Maester". Minister A Minister is a similar to a Magistrate, but has an appointed area that he is fully responsible for. Ministries are not particularly common outside of extremely populated regions, but positions as these typically fall to people who have plenty of sway and authority with the local guilds. * Magistrates, unlike Ministers, do not have select ministries of responsibility, so the duties of a Magistrate changes dramatically if a given fiefdom also has Ministers, as the ministers take over the traditional duties of a Magistrate. Chancellor A Chancellor is the formal leader of their Lord's Court. They are legalists and experts of the law, as well as being politicians who keep track of what happens around them. They are in charge of the ministries and/or the magistrates. Steward A Steward is essentially a treasurer, and is the default person to hold the title as Seneschal, as the Steward is in control of the money. Along with the Master-at-Arms and the Chancellor, few others are in reality needed to effectively govern a fiefdom. Master-at-Arms A Master-at-Arms is a default title, with many such titles existing that effectively replace this one. The Master-at-Arms is the military leader of a Fiefdom. Seneschal Freeholders ranking of Castellan or higher usually appoint a Seneschal - a person who rules for them, when they are indisposed or in case they die while is no heir present, who can legally rule.